Chronograph Wristwatches: To Stop Time [Hardcover]

Gerd-R Lang (Author), Reinhard Meis (Author), Edward Force (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Wrist chronographs are mechanical wristwatches that, in addition to their normal clockwork, have a mechanism that allows them to time short-term events. They are one of the most popular collecting areas in the broad spectrum of wristwatches because they are not yet too expensive and are available in large numbers. Until now they have not been studied systematically. Now Land and Meis offer this outstanding identification book. The text deals with the dial of the chronograph and all the indications that can possibly be read from it. There is also a technical section that shows the historical development of the chronograph mechanism. With collectors in mind the authors have arranged the illustrations by the indications on the dials. Pictures of the movements are always included with those of the chronographs. This book is a particularly useful identification book for collectors, dealers, and auction houses.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Pub Ltd (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887405029
• ISBN-13: 978-0887405020
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference book., February 12, 2002

By 

Nick Downes (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chronograph Wristwatches: To Stop Time (Hardcover)

Overall an excellent book on chronographs, which is a cross between a coffee table book and a reference work. As a collector, I refer to it a lot.

Unfortunately, the translation is poor, and there are many inconsistencies which can make it hard to follow descriptions: for example, the same component in the chronograph mechanism may be referred to by several different names. Also, the final editing of the English version leaves a lot to be desired, especially in a book of this price. Having said this, it's still a very good book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work by Gerd-R. Lang of Chronoswiss, August 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Chronograph Wristwatches: To Stop Time (Hardcover)

This book illustrates the intricacies of chronograhs in great detail and with much attention given to not-so-well-known facts. Master Watchmaker Gerd-Ruediger Lang is the founder and manager of Chronoswiss Uhren GmbH in Munich, Germany and his attention to detail can both be found in this book and in his watches, which are famous throughout the world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible amount of info!!!, April 30, 2011

By 

Slider "slider666" (North LA, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chronograph Wristwatches: To Stop Time (Hardcover)

I stumbled upon this large, 1999-copyrighted text some time ago, but forgot about it before I got around to ordering. Only recently I rediscovered it at amazon and promptly forwarded the funds, about $65 delivered. What arrived is a chronograph connoisseur's delight!

A few particulars:

As I mentioned, "Chronograph Wristwatches" is rather dated and is not exhaustive in its coverage of chronos. Nevertheless, the authors present such a varied wealth of information this hardly matters. Though I know nothing about co-author Herr Meis, Gert-Rudiger Lang is the founder and owner of Chronoswiss, a German watch company (which builds and sells Swiss watches) and was apprenticed to a watchmaker in his youth. Hence, he knows what of he speaks... so to speak. But, a note though, since this massive tome (250 9x12-inch pages) was originally written in German and translated into English there are a few wording errors, ones for which it is hard to determine if they are typos, translation errors, grammatical goofs, or ??? But, unlike some such texts, I have found remarkably few of these and the context makes it clear what was intended. They in no way detract from the book's value to chono-fans!

The book:

The text starts with an incredibly detailed history of chronograph development, appropriately focusing on wristwatch aspects of that process. It gives an unbelievable amount of historical and technical detail including the presentation of patent drawings and describing how each development worked. Every part of the chronograph is discussed in amazing detail, not only movements but also dial indications over the years, along with case design and construction. For me, I was amazed at the types of chronos one never sees anymore.

The historical and technical data are followed by an example of a set of repair instructions. This info brings us to page 75 and presents an incredible number of diagrams and description. Then, from page 75-219 we have MANY pictures of both complete chronographs and calibers with attendant info for each. There are both color and black & white presentations. Personally, I found it intriguing how common "no name" chronos were over the years; indeed the cover watch is one of these jewels!

I said that the book is not exhaustive. As a collector and reader of many watch books and magazines, I was not surprised to see no mention of Seiko in the race to develop and bring to market the first automatic chronograph in 1969 (and, by most accounts--even in Swiss-oriented sources--Seiko is often credited with having the first example actually on the market). Thus thinking Japanese watches completely "non gratis," imagine my surprise when I turned to page 205 and found it completely filled by three Seikos!!! Wow! There is even a Seiko movement 6138 bullhead on a later page, along with some Citizen chronographs, again including a bullhead. I mention the bullheads, in particular, since this style is my favorite design.

What of the remaining 31 pages of the book? They are mostly devoted to a "Caliber Directory" with close-up caliber pictures and descriptions (including Citizen and Seiko, again), a bibliography and index, concluding with a grossly outdated "Price Guide."

There you have it. Do you want this book? Do you need this book? Trust me, if you are a serious mechanical chrono-freak the easy answer is, OF COURSE!

(Btw, there is the briefest mention and examples of electric chronographs, but hardly enough to warrant purchase if that is your "thing.")